Join us for a visit with some of our favorite authors whose books we love to read and share with everyone. You'll get to hear from authors who've become friends over the years, authors we're just discovering, and lots of prizes and books to win!

Pages

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Life has a nasty habit of throwing
some equally unpleasant twists and turns at a person when they least expect it.
In my October Harlequin Desire Billionaires and Babies release, THE CHILD THEY
DIDN’T EXPECT, my hero and heroine, Ronin and Ali, see life as they knew it hit
some major speed bumps after their steamy vacation fling.

Writing this story I had originally
planned to set it on one of the beautiful islands of Hawaii, one of my
favourite places in the world, but in the end, I chose to base most of the
story back here in New Zealand and, in particular, in the rural community of
Whitford, which isn’t far from where I live. It’s a beautiful part of the
greater Auckland area, with rolling hills, forest, farm land, a large marina
and boat club nearby and views of the Auckland harbour that always make me just
sigh with sheer joy.

My early reviewers tell me they
needed tissues for this story (I seem to have developed a habit of making my
readers cry!) … but I can promise you’ll reach the end of this emotional
journey with a happy heart. If you’d like to join my review team and have the
opportunity to receive advance copies of my books to review, please visit my
Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/YvonneLindsayAuthor
and click on the App to join my Reader Team and/or click on the email update
app for new release information.

In the meantime, how about you tell
me about a place that makes you sigh with sheer joy. Are you a beach person,
city person, rural, mountains? Where’s your favourite place? All comments will
go into the draw for one lucky person to win an Australian/New Zealand edition
of THE CHILD THEY DIDN’T EXPECT together with a couple of other goodies. Good
luck and happy reading!

Monday, September 29, 2014

I’m a small
town girl at heart. I grew up on ten acres that had been logged and farmed by
my father’s Finnish grandparents. There were three houses on the property. My
grandparents lived in one, we lived in another, and the ‘little house’ closest
to the road was a rental.

My mom
planted a garden every year, my dad had cows and pigs and chickens and ducks,
and my grandmother made a trip ‘up country’ to the Okanagan a couple of times a
year for canning fruit. Canned pears with a piece of toast is a trigger food
for me, turning me six years old again, sitting at her yellow table, the
specific cadence of my grandfather’s accent fresh in my ears.

I climbed
apple trees and got shouted at for eating raspberries and related easily to
Laura Ingles Wilder and Ann of Green Gables. We were a shade more modern. We
eventually got cable TV, but fancy things like bought bread were for other
people, not us.

My husband
had a similar experience, mucking out chicken and rabbit pens, helping his dad
clear their property, living very rural so a trip into town was Going Into
Town.

By the time
we married, however, our little town had become a thriving suburb of a busy
urban center. The mountains and river were still very pretty, but the traffic
was appalling, the drug users were infiltrating, and the cost of real estate
was so high it was a non-stop rat race to make the mortgage payment. When our
kids came along, we knew we wanted for them what we had had.

So we
loaded up the car and drove for eight hours, until we found a town that has a
stunning lake, a school house of a hundred kids, and a year round population of
fifteen hundred. It’s twenty minutes from ‘town’, and that town is only five
thousand people. It was built on mining money, so the municipal hall has a
clock tower like the one in Back To The Future.

Are there
drawbacks? You bet. You really learn the difference between want and need when buying
something means a three-hour drive to the nearest city.

But the
sense of community is worth any of those little inconveniences. The pace of
life is calmer. And because you know everyone--your neighbors and your kids’
teachers and the ladies at the bank--you can’t help but feel safe.

I love
small town living. I didn’t realize quite how much until I began writing my
first Montana Born novella, Hometown Hero. Chase Goodwin is a local ballplayer
who made it to the Majors. His goal all through high school was to escape
Marietta, but he has a younger half-brother he comes home to help and bumps
into Skye—the girl he didn’t let himself want because he knew she was a lifer.

Skye gets
it. She’s small town to her quiet-living core. She knew Chase was out of her
league even before he made it to the big one, but when he comes back for a
visit, they strike sparks off each other and wind up with some hard decisions.
Small town isn’t for everyone, especially when a career is at stake.

How do you
feel about small towns? Are you drawn to a faster city pace or do you prefer a
quieter life? Do you have any special small town memories from your early
years?

Hometown Hero:

**SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY PRICE – 99c – SEPTEMBER 29th & 30th, 2014**

Skye
Wolcott planned to marry, have children, and live happy ever after in her
hometown of Marietta, Montana. Then her
marriage imploded in a cloud of scandal. Now she’d be happy if people would
just stop talking about her.

Chase
Goodwin worked hard to get away from Marietta, where poverty colored his past.
Living his dream as a major league baseball player, he has no reason to return
beyond helping his half-brother escape as successfully. The last thing Chase
would consider is staying.

Then he
sees Skye Wolcott, a girl he always had a thing for in high school. They get
off to a rough start, but are soon carrying on like high schoolers. Chase wants her to join his fast-paced,
larger than life world, but Skye’s a small town girl at heart. Can she convince
him that Homecoming is more than a game,

and he’s
back where he belongs?

Here's an excerpt:

If he had
come to apologize, she was going to tell him where to shove it.

This had
been the worst day of her life, worse even than when Terry came out. Then, at
least, she’d been the wronged party. Today people were asking, What were you thinking? Even Terry had
defended stupid Chase Goodwin. He’s not a
homophobe, Skye. I, uh, think he always knew I had a bit of a crush on him. He
was really decent about it.

She had not
needed to know her ex-husband had shared her crush on the town treasure.

“I’m not
interested in talking to you,” she said to Chase, glancing anxiously toward the
open door of the counselor’s office, where Brenda had left to fetch a student,
then the firmly closed door of the principal’s office, where he was meeting
with the VP and one of the trustees.

She didn’t
know which was worse, having witnesses to this confrontation or not.

Chase
leaned on the counter exactly the way the students did, like they wanted to
order ice cream or a beer. “Maybe you can ask someone else to help me, then,”
he said without emotion.

He looked
insanely attractive, freshly shaved, lightly tanned, his dark brows stern above
his intent green eyes, his mouth a sexy male pout that would make any female
swoon.

“I need the
parent volunteer forms so I can drive students and help with school events,” he
added.

Take that, Skye. As if he’d come here special to
see you. Like he owed you an apology.

Her throat
stung and she feared she might be blushing. Rising, she turned away to open a
drawer in the filing cabinet behind her, willing her composure back into place
as she took her time fingering through and tugging out the forms. When she
turned back, Chase’s eyes swiftly lifted to clash into hers.

Had he—?

Her butt
tingled and her stomach swooped. Don’t, she thought. The last thing she needed
was to start imagining he’d been checking her out. Hot and hating herself for
it, she set the forms on the counter near his elbow.

“I need a
copy of your driver’s license,” she told him.

He reached
into his back pocket, the move drawing her eye to the way his T-shirt strained
across his shoulders and pecs. Dear Lord, he was beautifully built. Were men
allowed to have lean muscles like that without carrying a license for them as
deadly weapons?

He offered
the card in two fingers. Something in the way he did it made her lift her eyes
to his. His brows went up ever so slightly.

He’d
noticed her checking him out.

Kill. Me.
Now.

She
snatched the card from his grip and boiled with self-consciousness as she
turned her back on him to make the copy. If he was looking at her backside
again—but why would he? She didn’t want him to, did she?

What was
she doing with her life that she was going off the rails like this? She was
basically a happy person. She didn’t have self-destructive thoughts so why
would she long for a spark between her and someone who would devastate her in
all the ways Terry hadn’t? It was crazy. Literally not sane or logical.

She took
the photocopy to her desk and slapped it into her In tray, refusing to look at
his photo even though she was dying to. She’d finish processing this later,
after he’d filled out the forms. Sitting down, she set her fingers on her
keyboard, determined to carry on with her day and be normal.

He
continued to stand at the counter, watching her expectantly.

“What?” she
demanded.

“Can I have
my driver’s license back?”

Oh for God’s sake. Blushing hard, she shot to her
feet so fast her chair rolled back into the filing cabinet with a crash. Get a
grip, Skye. She scooped the card from under the lid of the copier and when she
slapped it on the counter, she only dared lift her gaze high enough to see he
was biting back a rueful grin.

“Look, I
know my being who I am made this worse—”

“Oh, no, my
life is great,” she snarked, managing to keep her tone a level under shrill. “Isn’t
it everyone’s dream these days to be an internet sensation? Give the forms to
Max when you’ve filled them out. He can leave them in my tray.” Never come back here again, she willed
him.

Then felt
inexplicably sad, but honestly. This fixation needed to be carved out of her
psyche and cryogenically frozen for a future generation to deal with.

“Hey, I
didn’t post that clip. And for the record, I was being sarcastic last night. I
know you can’t turn people gay.”

“Sure about
that?” she shot back, once again finding herself pushing back for the simple
reason that he had the gall to say to her what no one else had. “Wanna put it
to the test?”

“I’d love
to.”

The smoky
look in his eyes, the deeply male timbre in his tone, crashed over her like a
tropical wave, softening her bones and put a tickling feeling deep in the pit
of her belly. A type of yearning.

One that
was beyond misguided. Look who he was. He was mocking her. Had to be. Probably
because he wasn’t any happier than she was about the way she’d embarrassed him.

“That’s not
funny,” she told him. “It’s mean.” And then, because the backs of her eyes were
sizzling, she went into Brenda’s office and shut the door.

“Skye!” he
called.

She heard a
door open and the principal spoke to him, asking if he was looking for her.
After a brief exchange, everything went silent, but she continued to hide,
bunching a tissue that she dabbed to keep her makeup under control, until
Brenda came back and needed her office.

Sunday, September 28, 2014

Have you ever dated someone you worked with? I did, and I
married him!

Careerbuilder.com
says approximately a third of couples who meet at the office end up marrying. My
hubby and I are one of the statistics. We'll be celebrating out twenty-year
anniversary in April, but in the beginning I would have never imagined us
dating let alone marrying.

The company allowed workplace romances, but my future hubby had
his own set of rules, including not dating women at work. He didn't care that
we were in different groups and worked in different buildings. He was adamant
about not dating…for a while. He finally relented and a year later proposed on
a chilly December night on San Francisco's Crissy Field at the Presidio.

When I was brainstorming my Kiss Me, Cowboy wrangler hero
Zack Harris' conflict, I was trying to figure out why he wouldn't want to date
fellow Bar V5 wrangler Charlotte (aka Charlie) Randall after sharing hot kisses
by the river. My hubby's old dating rules popped into my head. I knew Zak had
the same rule about not dating coworkers, only his was for a better reason. At
least in his mind!

Here's a brief excerpt between Zack and Charlie from Kiss
Me, Cowboy:

"So how'd you meet this guy?"

Charlie twirled the end of a braid with her
finger. "Work."

"He's a cowboy?" Zack asked.

Another nod. She wouldn't meet his gaze.

Interesting. His rule kept him from kissing her
again, but maybe some other guy's kisses would be enough to make her stay put.
"Forget going to Colorado. There are lots of cowboys in Montana. Hell,
Marietta for that matter."

She didn't look up. "Told ya. Work gets in
the way."

Yeah, Charlie wasn't one to hang out at bars
trying to be picked up. But if she fell for someone local, she would forget
about the other guy and keep working at the Bar V5 at least for a while longer.

A brilliant plan to keep her in the area. "I
could help you."

Her gaze jerked up to his. "Help?"

"Find you a man."

Melissa is giving away a $10 Starbucks e-gift card! To
enter, comment whether you've dated a co-worker. One winner will be randomly chosen from the
comments.

Saturday, September 27, 2014

One of my favorite things to do after I turn in a book is to
take a week or two and settle in to do some binge reading. It seems like when I’m
on deadline, I spend most of my time scouring through my research books for all
the little tidbits that will lend authenticity to my story.

But when the manuscript is sent off, I’m ready for a
vacation and I take it by diving into books.

When I go on a binge, I read all genres. It just has to be
something that appeals to me. I especially like when I get an advance read. I
recently finished A SCHOOL FOR UNUSUAL GIRLS by Kathleen Baldwin. It will be
released in May 2015. I’m so glad that I didn’t have to wait that long. It’s a
wonderful story. While it is geared for teens, any age will enjoy it. It’s
unusual and the prose is beautiful. Kathleen is truly a gifted writer.

My binge also included Sherry Thomas’s THE LUCKIEST LADY IN
LONDON. I love Sherry’s stories. She’s an auto-read for me.

I’m presently reading Cody Gary’s BAD GIRLS DON’T MARRY
MARINES. Thoroughly enjoying it. Next up will be an advance read of Sophie
Jordan’s UNLEASHED. I adored UNINVITED and am so looking forward to reading its
sequel. Then I’m jumping into BEAUTY AND THE BRIT by Lizbeth Selvig.

Sarah’s MacLean’s DON’T JUDGE A LADY BY HER COVER won’t be
out before I complete my binge reading vacay so I need something else to add to
my list. I figure I can work in one more read before I jump into writing my
next story. What do you suggest? What book have you read this year that I
absolutely must make time for this fall?

Three lucky posters will receive a signed copy of my latest
release ONCE MORE, MY DARLING ROGUE and Addison Fox’s MANHATTAN ENCOUNTER. I
loved Addison’s House of Steele series so I’m including this book in the
drawing.

Friday, September 26, 2014

When I
was a little girl I loved to listen to my Mum and Dad talk about how they met.
Mum grew up in Geelong, a large regional town, and Dad came from a farming
hamlet six hours drive away. One Saturday night Dad happened to be
visiting Geelong and he decided to accompany a friend to a local dance. As he
walked into the ballroom Mum danced past him. He turned to his friend and
announced, “See that girl? I’m going to marry her.”

It
didn’t turn out to be as simple as Dad might have hoped. That first night,
Mum’s dance card was full and despite his best efforts she couldn’t be
persuaded to make room for him. But he wasn’t deterred. He kept coming back,
driving hundreds of miles every weekend, just on the off chance she’d dance
with him. Eventually he won her heart.

There
were a few (rather large) obstacles to overcome before they could marry.
Essentially they were from two different worlds. He was a poor Catholic boy and
she was middle-class Protestant girl. They lived 400 kilometres apart. It
was the 1950s and these things mattered here in Australia, but my parents were
determined to make it work. In the end their love for each other won out and
they remained married “until death do us part.”

I’m a
sucker for a love against the odds story. I guess that’s why I wrote Breaking
The Drought. Jenna and Luke are from two very different worlds and
despite their strong feelings for each other it seems their love is an
impossible one. She’s a city slicker through and through and he’s a farmer
bound to his family property by love, loyalty and guilt. At times even I wondered
if they would get their Happily Ever After ending!

When a smooth-talking, sophisticated city
girl comes striding into town on her stiletto heels, he's the last person who
wants to notice...

When Jenna McLean gets roped into attending a matchmaking ball in
a small country town, she holds no illusions of meeting the man of her
dreams. A no-nonsense magazine editor, Jenna doesn’t believe in leaving
love to chance, which is why she’s developed Marriage Material – a fool-proof
framework for husband hunting. Shearers and farmhands need not apply.

Sheep grazier Luke Tanner has met women like Jenna before, and
knows not to waste his time. With the drought dragging on and bushfire season
around the corner, the last thing he needs is a spoiled city girl like Jenna
adding to his problems. He'll help out with the ball because it's good for the
community, but he won't dance, he won't flirt, and he definitely won't be
matched.

It's been a long dry season, but everyone knows when it rains, it
pours.

Have
you got an interesting story to tell about how you met your partner? I’d love
to hear it! All commenters will go into the draw for a chance to win a
copy of Breaking the Drought.

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Have you ever wondered why a writer you enjoy reading
suddenly stops putting out new books? There are as many reasons as there are
writers. But I'd like to talk today about having brand new books published
after a long break.

That's me. I thought I had retired from writing. I had a
number of reasons for making that decision and I did retire, for a while. But
nearly all my friends are writers and I found that I missed them and writing.
Even though they were still my friends, it just isn't the same when you're not
writing and your friends are.

Then, the wonderful Debra Dixon, president of Belle Books, reissued
several of my backlist titles and asked me if I had something new I wanted to
write for Belle Books. I did, and that book turned out to be Cry Love. Then
earlier this year, the wonderful Jane Porter, founder of the Tule Publishing
Group, asked me to write a novella for them and I very happily said yes. Both
Cry Love and Sing Me Back Home have just been released. I went from not having
anything brand new published in several years to having two new books come out
at nearly the same time. Talk about exciting!

My two new books are completely different. Well, that's not
quite true. They are both romances. Sing Me Back Home is the first in Tule
Publishing Group's Homecoming Series. What a fun book to write! My heroine, Maya
Parrish, returns home to Marietta, Montana, with her teenaged daughter, looking
for a fresh start. Naturally, the first person she runs into is her old flame,
Jack Gallagher, the man whose heart she broke many years before. Jack has a
daughter too, the same age as Maya's. Before long Jack and Maya realize that
those feelings of attraction they once had for each other have returned in full
force. (Attraction is such a mild word. What flares between Jack and Maya
sizzles, steams and explodes.)

Sing Me Back Home is pure romance. The course of true love
doesn't run smoothly this time either. I had a blast writing it. Who doesn't
like second chances? Coming home after a long absence? And let's not forget,
who doesn't like a really hot hero?

My other new book is different. Cry Love is a contemporary romance.
It's three love stories, one from 1859, just prior to the Civil War, one from
1968, and the last one in the present day, where we find they are all
connected. Cry Love has mystery and suspense, good and evil, tragedy and
triumph. It's about a love that won't
die. A love that has been reincarnated, now for a third time, in present day
Fort Worth, Texas. Claire Westbrook is a trauma surgeon and Jonas Clark is a
neurosurgeon. Two of the least likely people you'll find who would believe in
reincarnation. Until they're forced to, that is.

I'm very glad I wrote Cry Love. It had been on my mind for
many years. I did not have fun writing it, though. Oh, sure, parts of it were
fun. (Again, what's not to like about a hot hero?) I also got a kick out of
Jonas' attitude to the idea of reincarnation. I enjoyed writing Claire, who is
a very strong character but whose vulnerabilities take her a bit by surprise.
But running through the heart of the story is a subject that's not fun and in
fact, is quite tragic. Don't worry, though. Remember, I am a romance writer.:)

I am so happy to be writing again. And I'm so happy to be
working with two great publishers, dynamite editors and all of the people who
have a part in both Tule Publishing and Belle Books/Bell Bridge Books. Most of
all, it's good to feel like me again. As the saying goes, "I live in my
own little world. But it's okay, they know me here."

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Hi everyone! My name’s Jackie Ashenden and I write sexy, gritty
contemporary romance. I’m here today to
talk about opportunities. About how a road that you thought was a dead end, can
suddenly open up into a whole new series of directions. And it starts with my
book, Never Seduce A Sheikh.

A couple of years ago, before my first book was accepted for
publication, I decided I wanted to write something a bit different. I'd always liked the idea of sheikh books –
there's something of a fairy tale about a mysterious alpha king, who was also a
warrior at heart, that I really liked.
So I wrote this book with a very dark sheikh hero and I sent it off to a
certain publisher in the hope that they would like it as much as I did.

Unfortunately, it was not to be. Although they liked the book, it wasn't
right for them and since there weren't any other publishers who wanted sheikh
books, I disappointedly sent my sheikh hero to languish in the bowels of my
hard drive, never to be seen again.

Or so I thought.

Fast-forward a couple of years and a couple of months to San Antonio in
July of this year, where I was at the Romance Writers of America conference and
where I met with the wonderful Jane Porter. In the process of chatting about
various heroes we'd written, I told her I'd once written a sheikh. To cut a long (and no doubt boring) story
short she said she'd love a sheikh story for Tule and would I send it to her.

So I hauled my dark sheikh out of his PC
dungeon and sent him off. And Jane read it and she loved him and he's
now starring in Never Seduce A Sheikh, part of the International Bad Boys
series for Tule.

I never thought he'd get his day in the sun and if I'd never gone to San
Antonio and met Jane, if I'd never chatted to her about writing, he never
would. But I did. And isn't fate a wonderful thing?

What about you? Do you believe in happy meetings that lead to good
things? Random chances that can turn into opportunities you thought you'd lost?
Do you believe in fate? Leave a comment for a chance to win a $10 Amazon giftcard plus two of my contemporary
ebooks – Taking Him and Having Her!

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Through the centuries feuding families have provided the stuff
of tragedy and the wiping out of entire families. Think of the Capulets and the
Montagues, or the Hatfields and the McCoys and dark images abound. Of course
Hollywood also gave us the Clampetts and a light-hearted, crazy
Granny-feud-happy set of characters to enjoy.

When the idea of two people who wanted the same abandoned
building in Engaging the Enemy popped into my head, it seemed natural to
create a set of feuding families and a history that neither protagonist knew
about until they clashed. Such a background offered both internal and external
conflict to taunt, tempt and torment our hero and heroine and added to the problems
they had to overcome when their respective families also brought pressure to
bear on them.

The de Villiers and the Mahoneys have been enemies since one
great grandpa allegedly cheated the other great grandpa out of his home. Three
generations on and it seems as though history is about to repeat itself. While
Andie and Matt might not be pulling a gun on each other, they subscribe to the
theory that all’s fair in love and war.

One
building, two would-be owners and a family feud that spans several generations:all relationships have their problems.

Andrea de Villiers can’t lie to save herself.
But when developer, Matt Mahoney, buys the building she and a friend have
established as a safe house in the Melbourne CBD, she decides that protecting
The Shelter is more important than her aching heart. She will confront Mr
Mahoney, and she will emerge victorious. There are no other options.

But Matt has other plans for Andie, and
she soon finds herself ensnared in a web of well-meaning lies and benevolent
deceit. To protect the building and the families that depend on her, Andie
agrees to play the part of Matt’s fiancée, and play it convincingly.

But lies soon bleed into truth, and what
was once a deception starts to feel all too real. Can Andie accomplish her
goals and protect The Shelter, without losing her heart to the charming Irish
developer?

Monday, September 22, 2014

It’s a question I’ve been asking myself lately. When should my Hero and Heroine get their
Happily Ever After? Generally, I feel it
isn’t realistic for the Hero and Heroine to fall in love and decide they want
to be together forever in a week or even a few days. That having been said, when I’m reading a
romance, the time frame really isn’t a factor for me. It’s only when I’m writing them that I think
about it. Maybe it’s because I feel like
I couldn’t come up with enough action in a week to fill up a book of 50,000 or
more words.

In Her Man From Shilo the events cover a time period of almost twenty
years, starting when the Hero and Heroine were children. Her
Knight in Shining Armour, my latest release, covers the time period of a
summer. The rest of my stories fall
somewhere in between. My latest work in
progress is a medical romance that takes place on a cruise ship. Since a cruise lasts a week or less, you
would expect the characters to have their HEA by the end of the cruise.

However, both my characters work for the
cruise line, so having the story span a greater amount of time is definitely
doable. But do I want it to do
that? I am rather surprised I have
enough ideas in my head I could actually meet my word count without having to
make the story cover a longer period of time.
Since I’ve been going back and forth in my head about what I want to do,
I decided to ask you lovely readers out there what you think.

Does it matter to you how much time passes before the Hero and
Heroine get their HEA?

To make things more fun, one commenter will get a free eBook
copy of Her Knight in Shining Armour
or Her Man From Shilo, your choice.

Here’s the blurbs from each to help you decide which you prefer:

Her Man
From Shilo:

Rafferty Pierce's step-father has
arranged a marriage for him in order to expand the family ranch. Just one small
problem-Rafferty already has a wife.Daimiana Casey has loved two things for as long
as she can remember…. Dancing and Rafferty Pierce. Will she be able to convince
Rafferty she doesn’t have to give up one to have the other?With his step-father’s ultimatum, Rafferty is
forced to reveal his secret shotgun marriage to Daimee, and with it passion and
tension erupt.. Can Daimee and Raff have what
they both want more than anything?

Her Knight in Shining Armour:

She may not need a
knight in shining armour to save her, but that doesn’t mean she’s going to look
a gift knight in the visor...Paisley doesn’t need a knight in shining armour
to rescue her from her high-powered, abusive ex-husband. She’s got it covered
on her own: she's changed her name, liquidated her assets, and has a plan to
disappear in the Rocky Mountain National Park. Psychiatrist Sterling James has absolutely no
intention of being anyone’s saviour. The only woman he has any time for is his
sister. But circumstances change when Sterling finds Paisley in an unexpected
and life-threatening situation. Brought in to the drama of her escape, Sterling
finds himself invested, and he can't move on until he knows Paisley is going to
be safe. It should be a simple enough exercise to get
Paisley out of the park and into her new life. But nothing is ever as simple as
it should be, and Sterling soon discovers that even if her ex-husband buys the
set-up, he might not be able to watch Paisley go...

Saturday, September 20, 2014

We recently ran into friends whose daughter is now working a "real job" in Manhattan. They mentioned how tough it was for her to leave summer vacation and return to the grind — made all the harder because they never worked conventional 9-5 jobs while raising her, thus didn't model the way most of the country works. This is the same for our family: my husband runs his own business, which has given him the wonderful flexibility to devote extra time to family when needed, while also being able to earn enough to support us all. This thankfully afforded me the chance to stay home with our children, and eventually write.

We wondered how growing up in a world where work hours were more malleable and in which it was rare to see anyone wearing business attire might affect our kids' career choices. When I was a kid, men (and it was usually men back then) often remained with one company for their entire careers. I would struggle to have faith nowadays in a company being there for you the way they once were. I've seen far too many people blindsided by their company's laying them off with no advance notice, or worse still, left with no pension despite promises to the contrary.

There's something to be said for going it on your own if you can, and I think that appeals more and more to this generation of young adults who are weary of the conventional (and these days, lackluster) job market. Even more intriguing is the concept of eschewing the expected route, and making your way by hook or crook.

My daughter spent the past two months backpacking in Australia, and now hopes to move there: all it took was holding a koala bear to seal the deal. ("You had me at koala," as Jerry Maguire might say.) She said it was "the Bonnaroo of countries", referring to the famed music festival, at which people actively practice kindness. Her plan is to return as soon as her bank account will allow. I guess even glorious Central Virginia can't compete with a big-hearted country populated with adorable creatures with intoxicating menthol breath (eating nothing but eucalyptus will do that to you).

I struggle with the idea of "losing" my daughter to a land so far away, particularly when she was poised to enter the work force armed with enviable skills and potential. But I'd rather she be happy 10,000 miles from here waiting tables than be chained to a job that sucks the soul from her. To be young and commitment-free and able to carve your way in an unconventional way is enviable, and certainly brazen.

As Kendall traveled through Australia, I couldn't help but appreciate why she wanted to stay. Never have I seen such beautiful countryside as in her photographs. Plus, where else could you find unique animals carrying such cute babies in their pockets? And the Aussie accent? That alone is enough to keep you there. I'd have to take a pass on the Vegemite, though.

An American writer friend married to an Australian couldn't resist driving home the point on the glories of Oz, saying it was truly the best place to live for overall lifestyle. He said it's an egalitarian country with extremely friendly people, living wages, no guns, (no guns!), fantastic food, a month off annually for starting employees, six off (paid!) if you're with a company for a decade, and free medical care. He summed Aussie life up this way: sailing, drinking, surfing, cafes, drinking, and dodging sharks. Sounds like Shangri-La to me (minus the sharks).

It's like the anti-U.S., where there's a culture of some perverse pride in working non-stop till you drop dead. Or where a frightening majority of the population can't even afford to take vacation. And a frightening minority wield the Oz-banned guns like a badge of unearned entitlement. Yep, I can see the appeal to Australia. Besides, what a salve to the insane American academic arms race she just spent her childhood navigating. Who could blame her? Especially as she sees friends taking jobs in which they are so miserable they go home and cry at night.

I read an article recently about a Swedish study on "collective restoration", the idea that if everyone took vacation at the same time we'd all be happier and healthier. It referred to a woman who heads up a university's work/life balance center, who herself refused vacations for ten years. What at work is so important that you can't give yourself the gift of a little getaway?

I'd heard of young graduates being lured by consulting and Wall Street firms with huge vacation packages. Yet those "in the know" say such packages are really just a test: employees who actually use the vacation time would pay for it by not being promoted. I asked my brother, a high-level muckity-muck of lord knows what at some consulting firm, if this was true.

"I'm the wrong one to ask," he said from his office on a Sunday. "I worked on Christmas day. I hardly ever take vacation."

Meaning: you want to get ahead, don't take care of yourself. Be a cog in the wheel and turn and grind and don't poop out. There's a term for it: the work martyr complex. Granted, this was coined by the US Travel Association, in an attempt to encourage more travel, less work. But it is indeed a condition plaguing too many in our country. Of course the irony is the ones who need vacation most, those working two and three minimum wage jobs just to get by, well, they aren't going to get vacation any time soon, sadly.

I heard Daimler has instituted an email-free vacation rule: life will go on at Daimler while employees decompress and restore themselves. What a novel idea whose time has come.

As a mom, I'll hate to have my daughter about as far away as possible from me, especially knowing there's a good chance she'll end up settling there. But I'll also take solace that she's chosen a place that speaks to her soul, where she's likely to find a healthy life balance. And what parent wouldn't be happy to see her child have the wisdom to follow that bliss?

Jenny Gardiner will be saving her pennies to visit her girl some day Down Unduh. Find her at www.jennygardiner.net